Caoilfhinn: 'Rachel will be my guardian angel in navigating all of this'

Speaking moments after being named the 2026 Rose of Tralee, the Westmeath Rose, Caoilfhinn Ní Choiligh, said Rachel Duffy, 2022 Rose of Tralee, from Rosemount, is "going to be my guardian angel in navigating all of this".

“I was shaking up there on stage. The same thing happened on my selection night, I was like, 'which name did they say?'. There are going be complications with the name.

“And it just didn’t feel real, walking down as well, it just was… oh my God… is this actually happening?

“I looked down [at her sash] and I was confused – why it doesn’t say it Westmeath?!

“It’s amazing. I’m definitely lost for words. And I’m just really excited now because I think there’s so much that can be done with this title, especially for the people online who don’t watch the festival and don’t see the things that are going on behind the scenes, if they get to see that there’s much more that a Rose can do and what they can achieve.

“I think Caitlin did amazing in her year. I have very big boots to fill, but I will certainly try my best. Thank you.”

Continuing, Caoilfhinn said: “Embrace your imperfections and never let someone dull your confidence and your self-esteem, because it definitely happened to me and it took me a long time to try and get that back.

“Sometimes you do have to put yourself out of your comfort zone.

“This was definitely exposure therapy to me, of the highest degree, but I think it helped me really find who I was among the chaos of it all.

“It put me to the test and I just really appreciated how resilient I am.

“We are so amazing, us Irish women, we are so strong, and we shouldn’t doubt it for a second.

“I’m quite an emotional person, I’m surprised I’m not crying now, but I wear that as a badge of honour, I really do, because emotion is so powerful, and it’s something that I think we shouldn’t apologise for.”